New Delhi, The Shipping Ministry on Thursday said it is planning 160.64 Mega Watt renewable energy projects at major ports of the country by 2017.

“The Ministry of Shipping is keen to promote the use of renewable sources of energy and is in the process of installing solar and wind based power systems at all the major ports across the country,” said an official statement from the ministry.

The Ministry aims to set up 90.64 MW of solar energy capacity at 12 major ports and 70 MW of Wind Energy Capacity at four Major Ports by 2017.

“These major ports have started the process of setting-up the renewable energy projects from their profit earnings. The total financial implications of the solar projects will be 407.7 crores,” said the statement.

The statement also said wind energy projects will be executed in three major ports namely Kandla, V.O. Chidambaranar Port and Kamarajar Port. The total MW capacity of the wind energy projects is estimated to be 70 MW.

“A total of 6.94 MW of solar projects has already been commissioned with Visakhapatnam Port leading the way with 6.25 MW, the other ports in which solar projects have been commissioned are Kolkata Port, New Manglore Port, V.O. Chidambaranar Port and Mumbai Port. The remaining solar power projects will be commissioned phase wise and is expected to be completed by 2017,” said the statement.

According to the ministry, the projects are a part of the Green Port Initiative launched by the Ministry of Shipping.

“These renewable energy projects will help in the reduction of carbon emission and will lead to improvement of the environment around the ports. These projects will also help to reduce cost of power purchased by utilization of renewable energy for power generations,” said the statement.